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Spoon Fork And Food is PR friendly and we know the importance of brands and their collaboration that benefits the bloggers in all means. But their are some brands that commercialize not for themselves but for the welfare of the farmers as well from where they source the products. One such amazing organization is EKGAON. Recently my blog collaborated with EKGAON and took a step ahead in contributing a small part for the well being for the farmers. An initiative that costs you reasonable as compared to the retail stores and you get some standardized food product that comes directly from the farmers. Great packaging at low price, EKGAON brings you raw ingredients as well as ready to eat snacks too. My first product from EKGAON out of many was RAGI MILLET which i used to make Sprouted Ragi Cutlets , following the same today i’m going to talk about their Unpolished Urad Dal (Chilke wali Urad Dal) . A 1kg pack that costs only a Rs.219, tax inclusive arrives at your door step in just 2-3 working days. Clean, dust free, zero impurities with a state of art packaging. Every purchase you do, a healthy percentage goes to the farmers too.

Who Is EkGaon ?

EKGAON is leading social enterprise in India that works with a vast range of bio-diverse community-based organic/natural food products using sustainable, equitable and ethical principles. They painstakingly curate our products by exploring, discovering and extracting/growing abundant food variety and thus restoring the forgotten food-diversity through traditional techniques. They use state of the art technology, tools to connect to more then 20,000 farmers and over 20 artisan-producer organisations to bring over 100 premium food products to markets, ensuring quality assurance across the value chain. India’s rich culture and its bio-diversity creates a magic known as Indian food globally. Drawing inspiration from India’s 5000 years old agrarian traditions and its food-diversity, EKGAON has created the ‘One Village One World Network’ across 10,000 villages over 13 years. This network prides itself in respecting and nurturing India’s traditional knowledge, its indigenous wisdom and its spiritual principles that guide food habits across its diverse regions. EKGAON network works across agricultural value chains from production, processing to distribution in order to bring unique products from community-based enterprises. These products include organic produce, desi-pulses, rare-herbs, spices and staples to markets.

So my second product from EKGAON is Unpolished Desi Urad Dal – Split with skin Black Gram You can order your purchase here

Black Gram is most well-known and high nutritional bean. It has its origins in Southern Asia, specifically India where it has been grown for thousands of years. This particular gram belongs to bean family, just like the mung bean species. This is typically referred to as Urad Dal and is consumed by people in nearly every corner of the nation as an essential part of their daily meal. Urad dal is healthier compared to almost every other beans available for sale. It may be consumed daily since it has many incredible qualities that are good for health. Black gram is a healthy pulse since it has high iron content. This can help increase the energy levels within the body and keep you active. This is particularly important for women going through menstruation when they have a greater possibility of iron deficiency. Consuming urad dal frequently helps boost your energy considerably since it creates the body’s iron stores.

Crop Variety : Artisanal
Place of Origin : Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

Ingredients :

1cupurad dalSplit With Skin

2cupswater

2largeTomatoesroughly chopped

1mediumonionroughly chopped

1tspGinger Paste

1tspGarlic Paste

4tbspGhee / Clarified Butter

2Green Chilieschopped

Seasoning :

1tspRed Chili Powder

1/2tspTurmeric Powder

1-2tspCoriander Powder

1tspGaram Masala Powder

saltto taste

Whole Spice :

2Bay Leaf

4Cloves

4-5pepper

2Dry red chilies

Garnish :

1-2tbspfresh cream

Fresh Corianderfine chopped

Tempering (optional) :

1tspOil/Ghee

1tspMustard/ Cumin Seeds

2clovesgarlicfine chopped

1/2tspHing/ Asafoetida

Method :

As i’m using Ekgaon product hence the dal is clean, but if you get the lentil from any other store then make sure you clean it once before you start cooking. So now when you are ready with the day, heat a pan and dry roast the dal till you smell the aroma. Collect the dal and let it cool. Now wash dal in running water and add in pressure cooker along with chopped tomatoes, garlic paste, ginger paste, onion, whole spices and seasoning. Add around 2 cups of water and pressure cook til 4-5 whistles or till the dal is soft and cooked. Let the steam release by itself and then open the lid. Gently stir the dal with a ladle and check salt. Add tempering if you want or else garnish the dal with fresh cream and fine chopped coriander. Add ghee generously and serve hot with roti or rice.

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Hey All !!!

Hi, I'm Shaheen, born and raised in a gastronomic family where every conversation revolves around food and cooking is most relied on approximation and eyeballing the ingredients or ratios and proportions for measurements. A die heart foodie and a physiotherapist by profession, I came into blogging with a motive to pen down my experience of learning and refining in the journey with food from home and the world beyond, from street food to the fine dining, from mom's recipes to Chef's talk. Spoon Fork And Food was created on a lazy summer afternoon in the fall of 2014 in an effort to keep my sanity in check. This blog is a collection of good food and fond memories that remind me of my mum's home cooked food, those that transport me to distant moments of childhood or shared happy times with loved ones, friends and family. Recipes here are a reflection of me, my roots, who I was, who I am and who I will be as I evolve with the foods I discover, embrace and make them my own!